Reciprocating well pump



Jufly 17,, 19340 I Q BRAHT 1,966,917

RECIPROCATING WELL PUMP Filed Feb. 24, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 G M B) ORNEYG Patented July 17, 1934 UNITED STATES RECIPROCATIN G WELL PUMP 'JohnC. Bracht, Seneca Falls, N, Y., assignor to Goulds Pumps, Inc., Seneca Falls, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 24, 1933, Serial No. 658,342

3 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and use ful improvements in reciprocating well pumps and pertains more specifically to a novel stufiing box construction for the plunger rod of such 5 pumps, although adaptable for use in other relations.

The usual vertical reciprocating well pump or deep well pump, as it is often called, usually consists of a single or double-acting well cylinder or working barrel located in the well below water level and supported by piping attaching the cylinder to the power or working-head of the pump located at the surface. The well rod of the cylinder is also extended from the cylinder for connection to the plunger rod, which latter is connected to the working head.

The plunger rod operates through the discharge chamber of the well head and is usually enclosed by a stuffing box to prevent the water which is under pressure from leaking past the plunger rod.

The usual type of well head on a reciprocating type of vertical well pump is such that when the plunger rod or packing becomes worn, the water under pressure in the discharge head will leak by the packing and gland, overflowing onto the pump-house floor and in more extreme-cases of stuinng box leakage, will follow the plunger rod and leak past the gland with such pressure as to reach the interior parts of the working head, forcing out the lubricant and endangering the successful operation of the pump. This leakage about the pump head is objectionable also, causing a wet condition of the pump-house floor and the possibility of contaminating the well because of this leakage water on the floor flowing back into the well.

The main object of the present invention is to provide means for collecting such leakage water in an internal enclosed chamber, combined with means provided for conducting the leakage water through a suitable drain to any desired place.

A further object of the invention is to provide means by which such leakage water is not only collected in an internal enclosed chamber, but

also to provide means operating automatically and preferably through an internal passage to bypass the leakage water back into the well between the well casing and the well drop pipe should the primary conducting means for conveying the leakage water to a drain or the like become obstructed or should such means be omitted or intentionally closed as by a valve or the like.

Other objects and advantages relate to the details of form, construction and arrangement of the apparatus, all as will more fully appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is an elevation, partially in section, of an apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a section on line 22, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a section on line 44, Figure 2..

Figure 5 is a section on line 55, Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a slight modification of a portion of the device. I 7

Generally, the pump head structure shpwin comprises a casing 1 enclosing a driven rotary gear member 2 connected by crank arm 3 to a lever crank linkage structure 50 secured to the upper end-of a plunger rod' 4, the construction and arrangement of this portion of the apparatus being such as to actuate the plunger rod in s a substantially straight line direction. As the specific structure and arrangement of this portion of the apparatus constitutes no portion of the present invention, further detailed description will be omitted.

The plunger rod 4 is connected to the well rod 5 as by nut 6, the well rod being adapted for securement to any usual well cylinder or the like in any suitable manner for actuating the latter in accordance with usual methods.

The structure to which this invention is particularly directed comprises a discharge head .8 within which is provided the discharge head chamber 9. The discharge head 8 carries and supports the drop pipe 10 of any suitable length in accordance with the requirements of a particular installation. Further, the discharge 4 head 8 may rest upon a ring-member 11 proter to provide an annular space between the casm0 ing and the pipe.

The discharge head 8 is provided with 9. stuffing box 14 resting on the head and secured thereto as by bolts 53 and within which is arranged the gland packing 15 formed of any suitable and desirable material. The gland packing is held in position and compressed to any desired extent by means of gland-follower 16 and gland-nut 17 which may have threaded engagement with the upper annular end of the stuffing box 14 so as to adjustably compress the gland-packing by regulating the position of gland-follower 16.

In operation of the pump thewater is forced upwardly through the drop pipe 10 into the discharge head chamber 9 from whence it escapes through an outlet pipe 51. The liquid contained in the discharge head chamber 9 is under discharge pressure' and is normally prevented from passing plunger-rod 4 by stuifing-box 14 and gland packing 15.

As the gland-packing and/or the plunger rod wears a clearance may be provided between the plunger rod and the packing, permitting water to be forced through the clearance space and to thereby reach the exterior of the gland.

In order to prevent escape of fluid to the exterior of the gland the gland-follower 16 is formed with an annular recess in its inner surface forming a relief chamber 19 about the plunger-rod 4. Fluid escaping past the glandpacking around the plunger-rod 4 will collect in this relief-chamber 19 and may flow therefrom through one or more slots or passageways 20 here shown as four (4) in number to an annular space 52 between the gland-follower 16 wall 22 of the stuffing box and a substantially concentric annular wall or flange 23 which surrounds the gland packing and the lower end of the gland-follower.

Fluid collecting or trapped in the annular chamber 21 may be discharged and carried to any suitable place as by means of a pipe 24 tapped into the outer wall 22 of the stuffing box at a point adjacent the lower end of the annular chamber 21. The pipe 24 may be provided with a suitable control valve 25.

Under certain conditions it may be undesirable to discharge the fluid from chamber 21 to some external point or in operation the pipe 24 may become clogged, and under such conditions an automatically operating discharge means is provided for returning the fluid from chamber sageway 27 in the stufling box, which passage-' way registers and communicates with a passage- 'way or conduit 28 extending through the discharge head 8 and opening into the space between the well casing 13 and the drop pipe 10.

The upper edge of the wall 22 of chamber 21 ,bordering the discharge passageway 26 prefersection 29 and be returned to the well, as described.

In Figure 6 a modified form of structure for returning fluid from passageway 27 or chamber 21 to the space between the well-casing 13 and drop pipe 10 is provided, and in this case a pipe 30 may have one end tapped into the stufflng box 14 in communication with the passageway 27 and chamber 21 with its other end tapped into the well-casing 13 so as to convey fluid from chamber 21 to the space between well-casing 13 and drop pipe 10. This construction may have the advantage of avoiding the necessity of forming a conduit 28 through the discharge head 8.

It will be apparent that with the form of apparatus herein disclosed any fluid passing upwardly past the gland packing and the plunger rod will be collected in relief chamber 19 and by the arrangement and construction shown will be discharged into the collecting chamber 21, from whence it may escape under control of the operator through pipe 24, or if the pipe is not used, the fluid will automatically be returned to the well.

And although I have shown and described specific constructions as illustrative of embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent that various and many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pumping apparatus comprising a stufllng box, a gland within the stufling box, a plunger rod movable through the gland, a chamber within the stufllng box for collecting fluid that passes the gland said chamber'having a sump therein, a conduit connected to said sump for discharging fluid therefrom, and a second conduit connected to said chamber for discharging overflow fluid from said chamber. l 2. A pumping apparatus comprising a stufllng box, a plunger rod reciprocable through the stuffing box, an annular chamber within the stufling box adapted to collect fluid passing through the stufflng box said chamber having a. sump therein, a conduit connected to the sump for discharging fluid therefrom, and one wall of said chamber being formed with a passageway positioned above said conduit and constituting an additional means adapted to discharge fluid from said chamber.

3. In a device of the class described, a well head section, a drop pipe secured thereto, a well casing surrounding the drop pipe and of greater interior diameter than the exterior diameter of the drop pipe to provide an annular space therebetween, a stuifing box mounted on and secured to the well head section, a plunger rod movable in said stufling box, said stuffing box comprising spaced upright walls connected at their lower ends to form a collecting chamber having a sump therein, means for conveying fluid escaping past the stufling box to said collecting chamber, a conduit connected with the chamber and discharging fluid from the sump, and a second conduit extending through the stufling box and through the well head and leading from the chamber above the sump to the space between the well casing and the drop pipe.

JOHN C. BRACHT. 

